Monday, July 28, 2025 | Vol. 68 No. 253 | 27 Pages Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation NATION Tejashwi Yadav hints at a potential review of Bihar’s prohibition law if the INDIA bloc forms government GAMES Cinema Kubbra Sait opens up on SOS 2, love, friendship Sunil Gavaskar believes Gill may not have had the final say in selecting the playing XI Edit The Nimisha Priya case must serve as a lesson for India RUMOUR RAMPAGE | Word of electric wire snapping sparks panic Haridwar temple stampede kills 6 Biswajeet Banerjee HARIDWAR B harathy Tahiliani empowers survivors of gender violence to lead independent lives. Turn to the Mumbai page to find out how. SEE P5 India batters enforce draw FPJ News Service MUMBAI Skipper Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar slammed hundreds to help a resilient India save the fourth Test in Manchester on the final day. Gill cracked 103 while Jadeja and Washington struck fine centuries as well as the visitors finished the day at 425/4 in 143 overs with a lead of 114 runs to deny England a series win and make them wait. The series now moves to The Oval in London, where India will have a chance to level the series while England still give themselves a chance to clinch the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy. SEE GAMES A stampede at the Mansa Devi temple in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, on Sunday claimed six lives and left at least 29 others injured after panic broke out among devotees following reports of an overhead electric wire collapsing along the temple path, officials said. The incident took place around 9 am as thousands of pilgrims had gathered at the hilltop shrine during the ongoing Shravan pilgrimage, which witnesses a sharp rise in footfall on weekends and festival days. Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said the stampede was triggered after devotees began scrambling for safety amid rumours of an electric current passing through a section of the temple pathway. “The situation is now under control,” Pandey said over the phone from Haridwar. “But the panic led to tragic consequences.” Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Singh Doval said that 35 people were rushed to nearby hospitals, where six were declared dead. If the staircase route leading to the temple was not closed half an hour before the stampede, the scale of the tragedy would have been bigger, Haridwar Kotwali incharge Ritesh Shah said. The de- Haridev Pushparaj MUMBAI The Nagpur-born Divya Deshmukh and veteran Koneru Humpy played out an exhilarating draw in the second classical game of the Women’s Chess World Cup final in Batumi, Georgia and thereby pushed the contest to the tie-breaker on Monday. Both players have already qualified for the prestigious Candidates Tournament to be held next year on account of making it to the final of the World Cup and with an Indian winner assured here, it will be the first time an Indian woman will be clinching the coveted title. It was a game of cat and mouse between the experienced Humpy and the prodigious Divya which eventually ended in a draw after 34 moves on the basis of repetition. Earlier, after 19 moves, all indications were pointing towards a draw when Deshmukh and Humpy exchanged rooks following a trade in the 19th move. However, in the 21st move of the game, Humpy took a huge FPJ News Service No safe haven for terrorists: Modi NEW DELHI ceased were identified as Arush (12), Shakal Dev (18), Vicky (18), Vipin (18), Vakil and Shanti. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | nation Tailpiece Tiebreaker to crown chess queen today Sindoor showdown to set off Parliament fireworks Slip-up tags `3/yr farmer poorest Indian Agencies SATNA After a week of disruption, Parliament’s Monsoon Session is set to shift gears as both the ruling NDA and the Opposition prepare for a high-voltage debate on the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, starting Monday. The issues are expected to trigger intense exchanges in both Houses. According to sources, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will lead the charge for the treasury benches. There are also indications that PM Narendra Modi may intervene in the discussion to underscore the government’s “robust” stance against terrorism. 4Contd on | nation gamble by pulling her queen back to f4 from f5 and refused to go for trading the Queen when Deshmukh had presented her a chance to do the same earlier. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation BJP HITS RAHUL WITH PAK BARB: On the eve of the Parliamentary debate, the BJP targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. "He (Gandhi) constantly repeats Pakistan's wornout narrative that India was isolated globally," BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya said in a post on X. PM Modi on Sunday declared that Operation Sindoor had sent a clear and powerful message to the world about how India would respond if its sovereignty was challenged. Speaking at an event held to honour the legacy of Tamil emperor Rajendra Chola I, he said the cross-border military offensive had instilled a "new selfconfidence" across the nation. “Operation Sindoor has proved that for enemies and terrorists targeting India, there is no safe haven,” Modi said. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | nation TCS to cut over 12,000 jobs Agencies In what felt like a dark joke, a Madhya Pradesh farmer was declared to have an annual income of just ₹3. The income certificate, issued to 45-yearold Ramswaroop of Nayagaon village in Satna district, claimed he earned 25 paise a month. Agencies GANGAIKONDA CHOLAPURAM BENGALURU India's largest IT services provider Tata Consultancy Services will reduce its workforce by 2% in its 2026 financial year, primarily affecting middle and senior management, the company said on Sunday. The move will eliminate roughly 12,200 jobs from the company's work- The decision comes as India's largest IT services provider deploys AI and other technologies while entering new markets force of more than 613,000 as TCS deploys AI and other technologies while entering new markets and contending with an uncertain demand outlook. "This transition is being planned with due care to ensure there is no impact on service delivery to our clients," the company's statement said. 4Contd on | nation